The Film Maker
by H. Morgan
Summary: Tim and Jimmy have a secret. One they don't wish to share with anyone else. When that secret is suddenly revealed they must rely on their friends for help. Will their past pull them down or make them stronger?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _NCIS_ or its characters.

AU Season 9. January 2012. Past Tim/OFC. Present Tim/OFC. Jimmy/Breena. Tim/Jimmy Friendship.

* * *

Jimmy Palmer was frozen in front of the television as the credits rolled on the screen. He had gotten the DVD in the mail this morning. He thought it was harmless. He had bought movies online before and figured this was just one of them. Didn't even look at the return address as he opened the envelope and pulled out the plastic case that held the offensive thing. Now that he knew what it was, Jimmy wished he had checked. He was also very glad Breena had gone out with some friends for the evening.

He couldn't believe he had just watched the whole two hour movie. It wasn't something he had ever wanted to watch, or even remember again. It was in the past and he had moved on. But there had been something, something that stopped him from turning it off. He didn't know what, but now he wished he had. Having his own memories of what happened that day nineteen years ago was bad enough but also seeing what had happened to everyone else that was there was even worse. Just thinking about it caused Jimmy to cringe.

Knowing what he had to do, Jimmy quickly placed the envelope, plastic case and DVD into separate baggies and sealed them up. Remembering at the last minute to slip on his winter gloves so not to smudge anymore fingerprints. Just as he was labeling the last baggie as he had seen the MCRT team do so many times before, he realized if he had gotten the DVD, so had someone else. Dropping both baggie and marker, Jimmy scrambled for his cell phone which sat on the coffee table in the living room.

Just as he had snatched it up, it rang and caused him to jump. He would deny to anyone who asked that he also screamed a little. Taking a moment to slow down his now racing heart, Jimmy looked down at his phone and checked the caller ID. He let out a shaky breath as he realized it was the one person he needed to talk with. The person he was about to call. Hitting the answer button, he quickly put to phone to his ear.

"Hello."

_"Jimmy, did you get a DVD in the mail this morning?"_

Closing his eyes, he nodded even though he knew Tim couldn't see. "Yeah. I just finished watching it. I thought it was one I bought online last week."

There was no answer for a moment but Jimmy knew the agent was still there as he could hear him breathing.

"Tim?"

_"I'm still here. Listen, don't touch it more than you have to but get it into a plastic bag or something."_

Jimmy smiled. "Already did."

_"Good, that's good."_ There was a sigh over the phone. _"We're going to have to tell the rest of them."_

"What?" Jimmy's eyes widened in horror.

_"Listen to me Jimmy, we got DVD's of it in the mail. On the anniversary. There was a website address after the credits. I just checked it. It's already up for everyone to see."_ Tim sighed over the phone again. _"It's only a matter of time before they find out, better it coming from us then someone who sends them the link."_

"Right." Jimmy nodded. He didn't like it, but he knew his friend was right. "Who do you think sent it? He's dead. Leah killed him."

_"I don't know. It's gotta be a copy cat. I saw the website, there was another video. He or she have already killed. But one thing is for sure, whoever it is knows who we are and where we live."_

Jimmy hadn't thought of that. "Okay, when do we tell them?"

_"Tomorrow. I think we should talk with Director Vance first. He was one of the agents on the case to begin with, he already knows. I'm sitting in Gibbs' driveway now, he should know before anyone else. He'll be able to keep them under control once they find out."_

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

_"Yeah."_

They soon hung up and Jimmy looked around, trying to figure out what to do next. After the last two hours he wasn't all that hungry anymore but knowing that Breena would sense something was wrong when she saw he hadn't eat any of the chicken casserole she had made, Jimmy forced himself to eat a little. He could play it off that he just wasn't feeling good and didn't want to get sick. At least he hoped, he wasn't good at lying at all. Breena usually saw right through any little lie he told anyway.

After cleaning up what little mess he had made from dinner and making sure the evidence from the DVD was put away in his bag to take in the next morning, Jimmy started walking around the apartment he has shared with Breena for the last five months. After thinking about what Tim had said over the phone, Jimmy was afraid they would have to move. His friend had been right, whoever had sent the DVD obviously knew were he lived. He didn't like that realization.

After cleaning up the apartment just a little to keep himself busy, he had nothing more to do so he decided to jump in the shower. By the time he was out, dried off and dressed in sweats for bed, he heard the door and Breena call out to him. Returning to the living room, Jimmy smiled as he saw Breena setting her purse down on the coffee table.

He asked how her night out with her friends was and she asked what he did. He had froze for a second but quickly recovered and just said he had watched a movie and picked up the apartment some. It wasn't long before they were both heading off to bed. Jimmy set the alarm for an hour earlier before spooning up behind Breena and falling asleep. He knew he would probably not beat Tim and Gibbs into the yard in the morning, but he had still told Tim he would be there earlier then normal so they could see the Director together.

As he drifted off, Jimmy couldn't stop thinking about the last few hours and what was about to come tomorrow. He was glad Tim was already telling Agent Gibbs and the fact that the Director had been an agent with them all those years ago seemed to help how he was feeling. But it didn't break down the fear completely. Jimmy was feeling like he was walking to his death tomorrow. He almost was. He and Tim had been nineteen years ago. With those thoughts running crazy in his head, Jimmy fell into a restless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _NCIS_ or its characters.

AU Season 9. January 2012. Past Tim/OFC. Present Tim/OFC. Jimmy/Breena. Tim/Jimmy Friendship.

* * *

Tim gave an involuntary shiver as he sat at his desk in the bullpen just short of five thirty in the morning on Wednesday. It had been a rough night for him after he returned home from work to find an envelope sitting at his front door. He had been cautious when he opened it and popped the disc into his DVD player. After it had started he had wished he had just called Gibbs. After shutting it off only fifteen minutes into the video, Tim had gone through getting fingerprints and any other DNA he could from the envelope and the disc before storing it all in plastic bags to take into work with him the next morning.

He then spent the next two hours taking a run with his dog Jethro, who he had actually nicknamed Jett because he really couldn't stand having his dog named after his boss. When he had gotten home and after feeding Jett, Tim had finally gotten the courage to call up his longtime friend Jimmy, knowing if he had gotten a DVD of that horrible day, so had the other man. As he was talking with Jimmy, Tim had grabbed his laptop, the DVD in it's plastic bag and headed out the door. He already knew what he had to do.

The first order on his list had been to finally talk to the boss about that day nineteen years ago. He was sure Gibbs already knew something about it. It had been an NCIS case, Director Leon Vance had been one of the agents on the case. It was also in his personal file. Tim was pretty sure the older agent had read his file, or at least some of it. How else would he have known about Tim graduating from both MIT and Johns Hopkins.

He's also pretty sure that Ziva knows something about it. She had told them once before she was part of the team, back when Ari was still alive and she was protecting him that she had built a dossier on each of them for her brother. She knew things about them like where Tony had gone to school and about Gibbs' first wife and daughter (before anyone else). Tim had a feeling the Israeli woman also knew a little something about his past with Jimmy. Though neither she or Gibbs had ever said anything about it. Tim wasn't sure if he was happy they were respecting his privacy and not asking about it, or if they really didn't know.

Either way he knew they would know about it by the following day. Gibbs before anyone else because he was the boss. He was the one they all went to when they needed help. Tim had never gone to him for help before, heck he hadn't even trusted himself to go to Gibbs when his sister Sarah was thought to have murdered a petty officer. Tim trusted the older man with his life, but not his baby sister's apparently. He had only ever been at his boss' home a handful of times and those were only when he was called there for a case. He didn't even know where the boss lived until after already working for him for two years and Ziva was on the most wanted list by the FBI.

Tim looked up as a cup of coffee was waved under his nose. Gibbs was standing on the other side of his desk holding out the coffee for him. Tim gave his boss a thank you smile as he took the coffee in both hands. He expected the older agent to step away and return to his own desk but that didn't happen. Instead he watched as Gibbs pulled up his own desk chair next to Tim's desk and sat down with his own coffee.

Just eight hours ago, Tim had been in Gibbs' basement telling the older man all about what had happened to him and Jimmy nineteen years ago. He had showed him the DVD. Gibbs had watched the whole film in the basement while Tim sat up in the kitchen, worrying about how his boss was going to react. Tim had tried to stay downstairs with the other man while Gibbs watch the film but within minutes of hearing the talking and laughter turn to yelling and screaming he was starting to get physically sick. He ended up running upstairs to the bathroom and after couldn't bring himself to walk back down those stairs.

When Gibbs had stepped back into the kitchen, he was silent as he fixed them both a cup of coffee and sat down at the table across from Tim. The older agent had just watched Tim while drinking his coffee before he started asking questions. Tim answered as best he could about everything he could remember about that day. His friends, how Director Vance already knew, the aftermath. Tim could clearly remember the weeks and months after that horrible day.

He could still feel the fear of leaving the house, the pain from his injuries, the pain of losing a lot of his childhood friends. Most of that pain and fear stayed with him for years but he was able to push through it. Both he and Jimmy were able to push through it even though they were on separate sides of the country by the time they were both ready to finally move on. Tim was attending MIT in Boston and Jimmy was still out in California with his family.

Though it had been a long and painful road, Tim thought he had gotten over everything after such a long time. He had trained his brain to not even think about that day or the first couple of horrible weeks after they had been rescued. All the therapy, both physical and emotional had been worse but seeing his mother in tears over almost losing her only son so soon after her divorce from Tim's father had been worse.

"...Gee? Tim?"

Blinking a few times, Tim looked up to realize Gibbs had been trying to talk to him. He hadn't even realized he had zoned out on his boss for he didn't know how long. Blushing he was soon apologizing and turning away from Gibbs, not wanting to let the man see.

"Sorry, Boss. I... I didn't mean to..."

The soft tap to the back of his head had him frowning and returning his gaze to his boss with a puzzling look.

"Don't apologize, McGee."

"Right." Tim nodded, "Sign of weakness."

Gibbs nodded back. "Yes, but you have nothing to apologize for. Having this all dug back up can't be easy."

"No, it's not." Tim shook his head.

The motion caused him to see Tony and Ziva's desks. Between them stood a silent Jimmy, a ball of nerves as he looked between Tim and Gibbs. Jimmy had only just arrived to see Gibbs talking to Tim, only for the younger man to seem zoned out and thinking about something else completely.

"Palmer's here, let's head up to Vance's office." Gibbs spoke as he stood and made his way across the bullpen.

As he passed by Jimmy, he watched the younger man. He seemed to have the same thoughts and images running through his mind as were running through his youngest agent's and surrogate son's. As Gibbs walked by, Jimmy froze. He didn't want to move, didn't know how Gibbs was going to react. Still a little tired and jumpy from last night, the medical assistant hadn't even eaten before leaving for work. He hadn't even been able to stop for coffee because he was already so worked up about this morning's meeting with Gibbs and Vance.

Tim walked up to Jimmy and they just looked at each other for a minute. Neither said a word before they shrugged and rushed to catch up with the older agent. By the time they caught up, Gibbs was already at the top of the stairs and turning towards Vance's office. Tim and Jimmy both slowed after reaching the top landing as they both felt like they were marching to their executions. Neither seemed to breathe until they reached Vance's outer office and remembered that Vance already knew, they wouldn't have to actually say more than what was needed.

They could just show him the DVD (preferably with them waiting outside) and he would know what was going on. Than Vance and Gibbs could come up with a plan. Neither Tim or Jimmy believed they were actually needed for this portion of the seemingly new case. Tim opened his mouth to say something but was quickly shot down by one look from Gibbs as they all entered Vance's office and the door was closed behind them by Pamela.


End file.
